Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, February 19, 2020—Voting in the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliamentary) election on Friday, February 21, is “a religious duty” for Iranians, the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, further revealing the regime’s escalating concerns about the Iranian people calling for a national boycott.
“Elections are a matter of dignity for the establishment. The Americans are seeking a low-voter turnout in the elections to separate the people from the state and leave them hopeless about voting,” Khamenei said. Increasing reports indicate a vast majority of Iranians plan on boycotting the regime’s Majlis (parliament) elections, saying the entire process is a farce and the results are already determined. Many Iranians believe the regime uses such elections to claim a high voter turnout as a vote of confidence or mandate in the face of escalating domestic and foreign pressures.
“Friends are concerned about voter turnout in the February 21 elections. I want to tell them there is nothing to be worried about… If we do things correctly, it could be a very significant development,” Khamenei added, clearly paving the path for regime officials to engineer the elections and render results deemed necessary by Khamenei for his regime’s future.
"Experience shows regime authorities have been behind such fraud and voting violations in all so-called elections during the past 41 years."#Iran#MyVoteRegimeChangehttps://t.co/Whyb42nDgS
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 18, 2020
Iranians on social media are voicing their intentions to boycott the regime’s sham elections and tearing down posters and images of candidates. There is literally no eagerness among the Iranian population and even the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani described the election as a “selection and appointment” process. Ahmad Alamalhoda, Khamenei’s own representative in the city of Mashhad in northeast Iran, described these elections as the most critical in the regime’s history.
A state opinion poll published in the regime’s own media acknowledged that 76 percent of Tehran locals have no intention of voting in the regime’s sham election process.
With less than a week to go before Iran’s parliamentary elections, Hassan Rouhani, the regime’s president, held a press briefing on Sunday in which he discussed different critical issues.#Iran#BoycottIranShamElectionshttps://t.co/V3FA2ixCse
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 17, 2020
The mullahs’ Guardian Council vetting body has disqualified around 6,850 hopefuls, providing a major imbalance in favor of pro-Khamenei figures among the 14,000 applicants seeking to take part in the February 21 farce. About a third of the regime’s current MPs have also been rejected from seeking reelection.
Khamenei’s remarks about the importance of this round of parliamentary elections for the regime’s future and a significant unipolar result in his favor could be measures aimed at preparing the entire apparatus for his successor. Khamenei cannot afford any rifts among the regime’s branches. "The effects of the Majlis will not be limited to the next four years. A strong or weak Majlis will have a long-lasting effect on the country," Khamenei said.
Iranian officials acknowledge the regime’s desperate need for voter turnout in parliamentary elections#Iran#OurVoteRegimeChangehttps://t.co/hvlCbfDvMN
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 15, 2020
Recent measures aimed at packing the parliament with fully loyal figures, providing what many believe could be around 250 candidates for his faction, can be in line with Khamenei’s objective to take complete control of the regime’s so-called legislative body. From his perspective, this will allow the regime’s dictator to smooth the process of selecting and ushering his successor without any significant road bumps endangering the regime’s future.
It is also worth noting that Friday’s vote will have no significant impact on the regime’s foreign affairs or the mullahs’ nuclear policy. All major state matters are determined directly by Khamenei himself.
58 million Iranians are eligible to vote in Friday’s parliamentary elections. Iran has a population of 83 million.
